


Balance

by scifigeek14



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, First Kiss, Forgiveness, Getting Together, Healing, M/M, Making Up, Post-Season/Series 03, Post-Season/Series 03 Finale, The Wheel, additional characters:, bonsai tree, floating circle thing, just mentioned, miguel diaz - Freeform, miyagi-do metaphors, post x-mas fight, sam larusso - Freeform, the balance board
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29670405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifigeek14/pseuds/scifigeek14
Summary: Hawk is feeling frustrated with his attempts to fit in with the Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang dojos, but Mr. Larusso has a plan. Demetri just wants to see his old friend be happy again.
Relationships: Demetri/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69





	Balance

**Author's Note:**

> I know that everyone and their brother had this idea as a post-season 3 wish. But here I am doing it too! Get Hawk and Demetri on the floating balance circle or perish!!

The transition into learning the Miyagi-do style karate was a rough one for all the new members – not that this surprised Demetri in the slightest. The Eagle Fang members bitched about all the chores they had to do, not understanding how painting a fence or waxing a car would help them learn karate despite Mr. Larusso assuring them it would. Even Sensei Lawrence (who had shut Demetri down when he’d tried to use  _ Mr  _ instead of  _ Sensei _ ) kept asking Mr. Larusso if it was punishment or a prank despite both Sam and Demetri assuring him that they’d gone through the same process at the start of their training. The only one who didn’t complain – surprisingly – was Hawk.

In fact, the previously loud and brash Hawk had been pretty quiet the last few weeks since the Christmas brawl and his changing of alliances. He still talked more than quiet and shy Eli of the past had – offering up quips from time to time and shouting loud cheers of support when someone did well in a sparring match. But other than the few awkward apologies he’d offered when he’d shown up on the first day of training, he mostly kept to himself and kept his head down.

When Demetri had sat himself down one day next to where Hawk was studiously sanding the deck in sweeping strokes and asked him point-blank why he was so cool with the manual labor, he’d said that he figured it was what he owed since he’d played a big part in the time the Cobra Kai’s had trashed the place. And then he’d just started scrubbing the floor so fiercely that Demetri’s arms hurt in sympathy and not said anything else.

In the past, Demetri would have known how Eli was feeling with just one look or would have known what to say to cheer him up. But things had been awkward between them even after they had made up. It turned out that saying sorry and kicking some ass together didn’t magically return things to the way they had been. So, Demetri had walked away and left him to it.

But, it all came to a head on the day that Sensei Lawrence and Mr. Larusso decided to take their combined classes out on a field trip. The Eagle Fangs were thrilled to be doing something other than chores, hoping that they were going to finally learn some proper Miyagi-do brand karate movies. Even Demetri, who had been picked-on by many of them in the past, was glad to see them freed of their miserable looks. Everything was looking up. And then…

“Hawk, I have a job for you,” Mr. Larusso said, stopping him before he got on the bus they’d rented for the trip.

“Yes, Sensei?” Hawk asked, straightening up like a soldier. 

“Stay here and watch the dojo for me.” He handed Hawk a key to the front gate and Demetri gaped at the interaction. 

“Stay here?” Hawk repeated, trying and failing to not sound upset. 

“It is a very important job,” Mr. Larusso said, ignoring the tension in the air. “After all, we never know when someone might break in and trash the place.” Hawk bristled at the obvious dig from the normally peaceful man. Even Sensei Lawrence looked vaguely uncomfortable. “Meditate and focus on your breathing while we’re gone.”

“Sensei…”   
“Mr. Larusso...” both Demetri and Miguel said to their respective teachers at the same time, pleading for a reconsideration. But they both just got a pat on the shoulder and a gentle shove onto the bus. Demetri watched the red of Hawk’s mohawk disappear to a small dot in the distance out the back window of the bus as they drove away.

The field trip turned out to be a fishing trip. They didn’t learn any new karate moves, just the proper way to cast a line and how to balance on the bow of a boat without falling. Sam was, unsurprisingly, the best at both. Sensei Lawrence was surprisingly bad at both. Miguel was surprisingly good at balancing, considering his legs were still healing, and surprisingly awful at fishing. Demetri was, unsurprisingly, distracted. The boating ended when Demetri accidentally got a fishing lure caught in Sam’s hair and Sensei Lawrence started a giant water fight by dumping Mr. Larusso out of his boat.

The two Senseis had planned a big bonfire and barbeque to promote team bonding. It was fun to kick back and relax, but Demetri found himself looking over his shoulder for someone who was missing.

It was dark when they got back. Demetri was the first one off the bus and, when everyone else started their trek home, he followed Mr. Larusso and Sensei Lawrence back inside. Hawk was still there, at Miyagi-do. He was passed out, sleeping slumped sideways from what might have once been a meditation pose but was now a vaguely awkward sprawl.

“Huh, he’s still here,” Sensei Lawrence mused, kicking Hawk softly to jostle him awake. Hawk woke up and immediately threw his fists up defensively before realizing there was no threat. He dropped his fists, but he didn’t drop his guard. Instead, he seemed to withdraw further into himself. 

“Did you practice your breathing?” Mr. Larusso asked and didn’t flinch when Hawk replied by snarling and throwing his keys at him.

“Fuck this!” Hawk snapped, standing. “I thought your type of karate was supposed to be all about peace and forgiveness and touchy-feely kumbaya shit, but all you’ve done since I got here is bust my ass and make me feel worse than I already do. Well, I can take a hint. You don’t want me here. But, the day I got this mohawk, I decided I was done with being bullied forever. So, no matter what mistakes I made in the past, I’m not staying here so you can treat me like shit. I scrubbed and painted and sanded to try to make up for what I did, but today made it clear that you don’t want to teach me shit. I’m done. I’m out. I won’t bother you anymore.”

He shouldered his way past Mr. Larusso and walked off, slamming the gate behind him so hard it shook.

“Eli! Hawk! Wait!” Demetri called, turning to go after him but Mr. Larusso caught him by the arm to stop him.

“You think what I did today was unfair,” Mr. Larusso said. It wasn’t phrased as a question but Demetri answered anyway.

“Frankly, yes. He said he’s sorry. He’s played nice and tried to make up for it. Leaving him out, singling him out like that? I’d expect it from Sensei Lawrence maybe…”

“Hey!” Sensei Lawrence complained, defending his own honor. “Even I think this was too far. I mean, come on Larusso, the kid made a mistake. Didn’t we all make mistakes when we were young? Can’t you cut him some slack and stop punishing him?”

“This wasn’t a punishment,” Mr. Larusso replied calmly. “It was a test.” 

“A test?” Demetri repeated back, dumbfounded and not entirely following.

“I am glad he is sorry. You are right that he is young and should be forgiven. I already forgave him. But to let him train with us, I need to do more than forgive him. I need to trust him. I need to know that he isn’t only repentant, but trustworthy. I need to know he won’t hurt anyone again or suddenly decided to go back to Kreese again. I need to be able to trust he’ll have the rest of you guys’ backs in a fight and not run when the going gets tough.”

“So, what, I guess he failed because he bailed and told you to stick it?”

“No, he passed.”

“He passed?”

“Even hurting, and upset, and furious, he still stayed and watched the dojo until we got back. Even when he decided to abandon ship to save his pride, he didn’t say anything about going back to Cobra Kai. He didn’t lash out and hurt anyone.”

“He passed,” Demetri breathed, Mr. Larusso’s train of thought becoming clear.

“You’re a tough son of a bitch,” Sensei Lawrence grunted.

“Coming from you, that’s a compliment,” Mr. Larusso huffed. “But, I’m not the only one from whom he needs to regain trust,” he continued cryptically, turning back to Demetri. “Get here tomorrow by the time the sun rises and clear your whole day. Have a parent call me if they need to. Make sure that Hawk is there too.”

“Yes Sensei!” Demetri said, actually meaning it respectfully this time.

“Go on, hurry and catch up with him.” He waved him off, and Demetri paused to give a short bow before sprinting out the front gate in the direction of the road that he was sure Hawk would take to get to the Moskowitz household. 

Hawk must have been dragging his feet because Demetri caught up with him fairly quickly. 

“Hawk! Eli! Wait up!” He hollered, rushing to grab his arm and hold him back.

“What, Demetri?” Hawk snapped, purposefully looking away and shrugging off his hold. “You saw that complete bullshit. I know I messed up but that was totally unfair!”

“I agree!” Hawk finally looked up. His face was hard, but his eyes were soft. It was like the inner Eli was at odds with the outer Hawk. “I agree,” Demetri repeated. “But it isn’t like you to run away. I thought that was  _ ‘pussy shit’ _ ? What happened to your no mercy mantra?”

“Ugh. Do you ever stop talking?” Hawk complained, but Demetri could tell it was with good humor. “Besides, isn’t that attitude what got me into this mess? You know, you and Miguel are right: this isn’t war. So maybe I should just stop fighting and give up.” 

“Stopping fighting and giving up aren’t the same thing. Or did you miss, like, the  _ whole _ thing Miyagi-do is about?”

“Alright, smartass. But I think it’s pretty obvious that Mr. Larusso doesn’t actually want to teach me his precious Miyagi-do.”

“Well, you’re wrong. He said this was a test and that you passed.”

“I passed, my ass.”

“No, listen! Mr. Larusso is a weird guy who was taught by an even weirder guy. But he means well.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes, but he didn’t walk away.

“Come back tomorrow.”

“No one wants me there.”

“I do. And you owe me most of all, so show up tomorrow. Be here by sunrise,” he ordered. 

“Sunrise? For what, more deep breathing and fence painting?”

“Would you stop being so snarky? Being a depressing smartass is my shtick.” That finally made Hawk smirk out a small but real smile. “Just be here.”

“I’ll think about it.” He turned to start walking again, deciding the conversation was over, but Demetri grabbed his arm again (still marveling that he could touch so casually without fearing a punch to the face or another broken limb). 

“Wait. You didn’t eat, right?” He said reaching into his backpack and pulling out a plastic baggy. “I saved you some s’mores and a couple of burgers. Though, they are probably cold and smushed by now.”

Hawk snorted and took the bag gingerly. They both observed the smears of chocolate and ketchup that had painted the inside of the plastic. 

“You are such a dork,” Hawk said. It sounded fond. 

“Get home safe.”

“Okay, mom.” Demetri pushed him away with a laugh. 

“See you tomorrow.”

“Maybe.”

In the end, Hawk did show. But the sun had already risen when he skulked in the gate and Demetri had been starting to fear that he was going to bail. 

“You’re late,” Mr. Larusso observed, not unkindly. “But, better late than never, right?”

“Slept through my alarm, and it takes a while to get my hair to do this,” Hawk defended.

“Well, for the sake of your  _ ‘do’ _ , I hope that gunk is waterproof.”

“Uh, Mr. L,” Demetri interrupted. “No one says  _ ‘do’  _ anymore. And, please tell me we aren’t going fishing again.”

“No fishing. No boats. In fact, we don’t even have to leave the dojo’s yard. But, I hope you got a lot of practice yesterday standing on water.”

“Why is everything so enigmatic with you,” Demetri complained. 

“Follow me.” He led them to a circle drawn in the dirt with sand.

“Lemme guess. Ancient Japanese sand art?”

“Not quite. I get the feeling that you are impatient to learn some special moves from the Miyagi-do skill set, am I right Hawk?” 

“Is it time for the ol’ ‘show me wax on, show me wax off’ trick?” Demetri asked, making Mr. Larusso grin.

“I thought we’d save that for a group demonstration. I was thinking today we might do something a little more specialized. I heard that you two made quite the team during the most recent fight. So, today, I am going to teach you the Wheel technique: a two-person defense.” 

Hawk grinned. He looked excited for the first time since their last fight. It made Demetri excited too.

“Go on and stand in the circle facing each other. I’ll teach you the moves.” My. Larusso encouraged. They did so. “Good. Bow to me, then to each other.” They did. “Now, follow these moves.” They did that too.

“This is a little bit…” Hawk said, hesitant to complain after he was  _ finally _ being taught real moves. So, Demetri finished the thought for him. 

“I feel like I’m joining a K-pop group.” 

“I don’t know what that means, but you two look great. I think you’ve got it down.”

“It means, it feels like we are dancing,” Hawk explained. “I feel ridiculous.”

“Ah. I’ve heard that before. Wait until I teach you the bone dance and the drum.”

“What?”

“Just, push through it. Now comes the hard part.”

“I thought you  _ just _ said that we had it down,” Demetri complained. 

“You know the moves, now you have to do them at the same time.”

“How are we supposed to do that when we are facing away from each other? The force?”

“The secret to this technique is the secret to all of Miyagi-do karate: trust and balance. Now, get in the pond.”

_ What… _

“It’s freezing!” Demetri gasped when they stepped into the water.

“Dude!” Hawk exclaimed, immediately after.

“I know, I know. Stop being a pussy, right?”

“No! I think something touched my leg!”

“What!?”

“It was probably just a plant growing on the bottom,” Mr. Larusso soothed. “Besides, all the more encouragement for you to get on the balance board and stay there.”

“You are a sadistic man, Mr. L.” 

“Stop talking and get up there, Demetri.”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

“Careful, slow,” Mr. Larusso cautioned as they both reached opposite sides of the floating wooden circle and started to pull themselves up.

The whole thing was free-floating and it shifted and dipped wildly with their weight. They ended up having to practically army crawl their way up onto it and needed to reach out across the circle to brace each other in order to stand up. Demetri had never been surfing, but based on what he’d seen at the beach and in movies, it felt like trying to stand on a surfboard without the momentum of a wave to help keep you upright. They managed to take their starting positions before completely losing their footing and wiping out backwards off the board with a big splash.

“That’s okay! Try again!” Mr. Larusso encouraged. And he kept encouraging them as they fell over and over again and the wooden board got wetter and slipperier each time. After close to ten attempts, they had only managed to make it through the opening set of moves and into the first turn. 

“This is bullshit!” Hawk exclaimed, spitting out pond water.

“This is impossible,” Demetri moaned, gripping uselessly at the floating wood and feeling sympathetic to Jack in the Titanic movie.

“Don’t get discouraged,” Mr. Larusso said, ignoring the fact that they were already totally discouraged. “Tell you what. I doubt I’m helping by standing here staring at you. I have some errands I need to run for the dealership, so I’ll leave you two to work through it at your own pace.” He was already backing up as he spoke. “Just remember: trust and balance. Trust and balance with each other. Trust and balance within yourself. I’ll be back with lunch!”

“Is he always that…?” Hawk asked a trailing question after Mr. Larusso left. 

“Enigmatic? Or, disgustingly optimistic? You get used to it,” Demetri told him and started the arduous task of crawling back up onto the wooden circle, forcing Hawk to do the same.

“Let’s try counting it out loud,” Hawk suggested.

Fifteen splashes later, and they were able to go through the majority of the moves – slowly, and awkwardly. Counting out loud was working, but counting in their heads wasn’t.

“I think you are counting faster than me!” Demetri yelped as he felt the motion of Hawk moving quicker than he was and they both dropped to their knees to keep from falling back into the water.

“Then speed up!” Hawk snarked, frustrated.

“You slow down!” Demetri returned, splashing him with pond water in retaliation. 

“Watch the hair!” Hawk exclaimed, trying to shield himself from the water.

“Sorry, Hawk, but your  _ ‘Hawk’ _ is a lost cause at this point,” Demetri informed him ruefully. 

Each time he had fallen into the pond, the mohawk had fallen flatter and flatter as the water weighed it down and broke the bonds of whatever gel and hairspray Hawk had been using to get it to stick up. Now it looked less like red flames and more like a sad tangle of red yarn. 

“What if we use music?” Hawk asked, making Demetri’s eyes snap from his hair to his face. He had the same glint in his eyes he used to have when he was trying to come up with a solution to a particularly tough piece of code.

“Uh, I don’t follow. I don’t think music is going to help your hair.”

“With the Wheel, Demetri,” Hawk said flatly, looking unimpressed. “What if we used music to help with our timing?” What Hawk was getting at was starting to dawn on Demetri and he felt himself grin.

“Like in health class when they taught us CPR in time to Staying Alive!”

“Exactly! But I think we need something with a faster beat, or we’ll get our asses kicked in a real fight. Is Sensei Larusso as stuck in the past as Sensei Lawrence is? I was thinkin’ ACDC’s Back In Black.”

“He is absolutely stuck in the past, but you are kidding yourself if you think that I know that song for any other reason than having watched, like, eleven seasons worth of Supernatural.”

“Seriously? That show totally jumped the shark after season five.”

“I’m sorry? You watched all of Moffet’s Who and Sherlock but you’re telling me that you, of all people, are a Kripke purist? What about Halucifer? Season Gr-eight? You watched every season of Glee! Even the later ones!”

“And I regretted it!” They both huffed out a self-deprecating laugh. 

“I missed talking with you like this,” Demetri admitted and Hawk gave him a small smile, the way he used to. 

“Me too,” he agreed, his smile turning into a confident smirk. “Not, let’s rock this Wheel!” 

“I think the point is to not rock it.” 

“Demetri, I will push you into the water even if it means I go down too.”

It sounded and looked ridiculous at first, singing the opening riff of the song over and over out loud to time their movements, but it was hard to argue with results. They were able to get through the whole move-set on their first try and were able to repeat the results on their next two. Switching to singing in their heads proved a little more difficult, but all the more satisfying when they finally nailed it.

Hawk lifted his arms and rocked out a dramatic air guitar riff in celebration, causing Demetri to burst into laughter and them to both go tumbling off the board into the water. They both came up laughing and sputtering. 

They crawled their way back on the board and, totally exhausted, they laid on their backs panting. Their heads resting near the center and their feet dangling off the opposite edges into the pond, they just breathed and basked in their victory. 

Demetri enjoyed the familiar company of Eli’s presence warm at his side. He felt safe and at peace. He didn’t feel worried or scared about what would happen in the future. He turned to grin at Hawk, but when he did he noticed that Hawk’s own smile had vanished. He looked instead… pensive.

“Hey, we totally rocked that. So, why do you look like Luke Skywalker when he found out Vader was his absent father?” Demetri asked him.

“Probably because I’m the Vader in this storyline?” Hawk sighed, staring despondently up into the California winter sky. “Sensei Larusso said this whole thing was about balance and trust.”

“Right… you trust me to have your back and I trust you, and that’s the balance. It’s like some kind of Yin and Yang thing.” 

“How  _ can _ you trust me? I broke your freaking arm, Demetri! I don’t get how you can trust me not to hurt you again when I can’t even trust myself. I feel the farthest thing from inner balance right now. I can’t be the big bad bully Cobra Kai Hawk anymore, but I don’t think I can go back to shy and nerdy Eli anymore, or if I even want to.”

“For what it's worth, I think both Eli and Hawk are pretty cool, at least, before Hawk became a giant jerk,” he said, glad when it made Hawk huff a reluctant laugh. “Cut yourself some slack. You made mistakes. We all did. I shouldn’t have run my mouth at that party. It was way out of line.”

“I deserved it.”

“No! No, you didn’t. You didn’t deserve me dragging out personal private moments and secrets like that just because I was feeling hurt. What happened between us, Eli. It wasn’t all your fault. I was stubborn about admitting it to myself for a long time because it was easier to blame you or Kreese or Sensei Lawrence or Miguel or your new hairstyle.”

“Demetri –” Hawk tried to interrupt.

“No, listen, I’m sorry. I can’t stop thinking about the day this all started, the first time we went with Miguel to Cobra Kai. Sensei Lawrence started in on your lip and he asked me if he was just supposed to ignore it and I said yes. But, I was wrong and he was right. I should have said: you don’t have to pretend not to see it because it is a part of him. It is a part of what makes Eli  _ Eli _ and I  _ like _ who Eli is. The truth is that I was ashamed of it just like you, and I held you back from being the proud and confident guy that you became the second you stopped trying to hide it – stopped pretending that it wasn’t there. I’m sorry, Eli. I should have been proud. I should have shouted it.” Demetri took a deep breath to collect himself for a moment and then, looking at the sky like he was addressing the whole world, he committed fully. As loud as he could, he shouted: “This is Eli! He is my best friend and the most important person in my life and I would literally die for him! He is kind and funny and smart! He likes Star Trek and Doctor Who and anime! He pretends to like Dungeons and Dragons because he knows I like it! He likes video games but sucks at Mario Kart! He is good at coding but hates math! And, yeah, his lip is different! But I think it’s cool! You  _ wish _ you were as cool as him!”

He was panting by the time he finished shouting and his heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest. But he felt lighter, getting off his chest the weight of all the words he’d never said – should have said sooner. Feeling able to face him again, Demetri turned back to Hawk and was surprised to see him with tears in his eyes. He reached out and helped to lever him up into a sitting position without flipping over the board on which they sat. Once they were upright, Hawk didn’t let go but gripped at Demetri’s wrist like a lifeline.

“And now, you just have other cool things to like about you, like your dumb hair, and your fighting skills, and how confident you are… and the fact you can ride a freaking motorcycle,” Demetri added, this time in a quieter tone, lifting his arm to wipe uselessly at Hawk’s face with his still-damp-with-pond-water sleeve. “I’m proud to have you at my side, as both Eli  _ and _ Hawk, you big cry baby.” 

“Demetri?” Hawk whispered, tightening his grip on Demetri’s arm and tugging. “For once in your life, please, just stop talking.”

And then, Hawk leaned forward and kissed Demetri on the mouth. It tasted like sweat and pond water. And when Demetri shuddered, he couldn’t be sure if it was from the kiss or from the water drying on his skin. But he didn’t pull away. He closed his eyes and pressed in closer and marveled at the way it wasn’t weird at all. Demetri tried to remember if he’d ever thought about kissing Eli before – back in his early days of puberty or during late-night sleepovers – but came up blank. And yet, now, it seemed as though there was suddenly nothing else he wanted more.

“Well, seems you two have reached a true,” Mr. Larusso’s voice called out, startling them so badly that they upended the balance board and flipped over into the water so spectacularly that they couldn’t have made a bigger splash if they had tried.

Mr. Larusso was thrilled to see their mastery over the Wheel technique, and they were thrilled to get off the floating circle from hell and out of the pond. Demetri’s toes and fingers had gone all pruney. 

“There is a shower in the back,” Mr. Larusso told them, handing them each a fresh set of Miyagi-do gi to change into. Demetri grinned at the way that Hawk ran his fingers over the insignia on the back a bit reverently. “Hurry up and warm up and then come eat.”

“Thanks, Mr. L!” Demetri chirped, nudging Hawk gently with his elbow to get him to move.

“No problem. Oh, and hey, take turns in the shower. No hanky-panky in the dojo.” 

They both turned a brighter red than Hawk’s hair and were too embarrassed to even  _ look _ in each other’s direction until they were both clean, dry, and seated on the floor with a pair of chopsticks surrounded by what Mr. Larusso claimed was traditional Japanese fare. It was pretty tasty. 

“Call me a parent, but I think your hair looks better that way,” Mr. Larusso said to Hawk as they cleaned up after the meal.

Demetri privately agreed. Without access to any hair products, Hawk’s hair had dried loose and fluffy, falling down to land just below the shell over his ears. It was longer than it had been before he’d begun styling it up, and the dyed color and shaved sides made him look like an anime character or something. Mostly, it just made Demetri want to run his fingers through it – something he did  _ not _ want to do when it was gelled.

“You sound like my mom,” Hawk complained with a good-natured groan. “You’d get along great.”

“Well, I don’t know about that since I keep keeping her kid out all day and sending him home covered in paint and wood sand.”

“Better than the time I came home from Cobra Kai covered in cement.”

“What?”

“Nothing! Um… are we done for the day, Sensei?”

“Not quite yet.” Demetri groaned when Mr. Larusso gave him another of his  _ ‘I’m about to impart ancient wisdom’ _ smiles.

“You want us to prune your mini trees?” Hawk asked, staring dubiously at the plant Mr. Larusso had set him in front of.

“They are called bonsai trees, and yes.” He handed each of them a pair of pruning shears. Demetri, by now well used to Mr. Larusso’s bullshit, shrugged and leaned over to start clipping his designated tree. “Wait,” Mr. Larusso stopped him. “First, close your eyes.” Demetri didn’t need to look to know that Hawk had given Mr. Larusso a look of doubt, since he heard Mr. Larusso say, “Just do it. Do you question Sensei Lawrence when he makes you do push-ups?”

“No Sensei.”

“Good. Okay, now picture the bonsai tree, only the tree and nothing else.”

“But how do I know what it’s supposed to look like?”

“There are no wrong answers here.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure it’s a wrong answer if I accidentally chop it in half or somehow kill it,” Demetri commented wryly.

“Demetri, has anyone ever called you an optimist?” Mr. Larusso asked.

“No.”

“I wonder why.” He heard Hawk snort in the background. “I’m serious; no wrong answers. Visualize it, then open your eyes and make it reality.”

Demetri sighed and sat in silence with his eyes closed for a moment, trying to imagine his bonsai tree. He wasn’t fully convinced about his  _ ‘vision’ _ when he opened his eyes, but it was kind of soothing to clip away at it.

“So, Mr. Larusso, what’s the life lesson and grand metaphor from this one, or are we just doing your gardening?” 

“I’ll let you two figure it out on your own. I have full confidence in you,” he said, patting Demetri on the shoulder in a  _ total _ dad move. “Lock up after you’re done. And you can take those bonsai home with you! Don’t stay too late and miss dinner.” And then he left.

“Unbelievable. He abandoned us again,” Demetri complained.

“Shh, I’m focusing,” Hawk hushed him.

Demetri looked over and couldn’t help but grin at the way Hawk was focused on his bonsai tree. Demetri decided to let Hawk be and focused on his own tree. He lost track of time for a bit, lost in the meditative repetitive motion of clipping. 

“Mine looks a little bit like your neighbor’s poodle when it had to get shaved for its surgery,” Demetri observed of his work when he decided he was done. 

He heard Hawk huff in amusement and took it as a cue to get up and go check out Hawk’s work. Where Demetri’s had ended up with more rounded edges, Hawk’s looked sharper and more angular. It was spiky – like Hawk.

“I like it,” he complimented, walking up behind where Hawk was sitting and wrapping his arms around his neck loosely so he could lean over his shoulder and peer at the tree.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The top part looks like your mohawk,” he said, happy to be allowed into Hawk’s personal space bubble again and have it feel so safe and comfortable and warm to be there.

“Ugh,” Hawk groaned, leaning his head back so he could make eye contact with Demetri. His hair tickled Demetri’s nose and he was glad it was unstyled or he might have lost an eye on a spike.

“What?”

“I figured out the metaphor. The tree is me, and I’m the only one who can control what form it takes – what form I take.” 

“Are you saying that I secretly want to look like a shaved poodle?” He could feel Hawk’s laughter reverberate through him where they were pressed together. He wanted to kiss him again. “I think you’re right though. This bonsai is  _ definitely  _ you. I can tell.”

“Oh yeah?” Hawk played along, grinning.

“Yeah. See right there?” Demetri pointed to a random place on the tree. “That’s your smile. And over here? That is your pretty eyes.”

“Demetri…” He tried to protest, getting embarrassed at Demetri’s shameless flirting.

“Shh,” Demetri hushed, really on a roll now. Besides, Hawk had kissed him first, so Demetri was pretty sure that flirting was fair game. “On the left is how cool you look in a fight, but on the right is that time I dared you to watch all eight Harry Potter movies on a school night and you fell asleep in biology class.”

“Smartass,” Hawk accused, not at all sounding mad.

“This tree is Hawk and Eli. It’s full of mistakes and victories and memories.”

“Now who is reading into metaphors too much?”

“Now who’s the smartass?”

“Sorry, please continue Sensei Demetri,” Hawk teased.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, all these parts make up the whole you. And, I happen to like this particular bonsai tree a lot.”

“I think… if you like it, then maybe I can start to like it too,” Hawk said softly.

“Good. Buuuut…” Demetri said, turning the tone of his voice playful again,” I think there is still something missing.”

“Oh really?” Hawk asked, once again willing to go along with whatever game Demetri was playing. 

“Yeah. Right here.” He pointed to the very top of the tree.

“What is that part?” Hawk asked.

“That part… is the part that is Demetri’s boyfriend?” He meant to say it more swave and confidently than he had ended up doing and he cringed into the silence that followed, ready to make a tactical retreat. But then he felt Hawk rumble with silent laughter and his hand came up to rub a thumb over one of Demetri’s wrists.

“Sap,” he accused, not unfondly.

“I think you’ll find that most trees have sap,” Demetri bantered back, causing an appropriate amount of outrage for such a cheesy pun.

“You dweeb! Why do I even like you?” Hawk asked, spinning around in his stool to face Demetri. Demetri didn’t unlatch his arms from his neck and found himself standing between Hawk’s knees.

“Any number of reasons: my unending whit, my dashing charm, my handsome face –”

“Your inability to stop talking?”

“I believe we have already discovered the most effective way to get me to shut up,” Demetri challenged. Hawk kissed him.

They kissed until Demetri’s mom called him home for dinner, then they packed up their damp clothes and brand new bonsai trees, locked the doors to the dojo behind them, and went home. And it wasn’t until Demetri fell into bed that night grinning that he realized: Shit! He needed to break up with Yazmine!

Maybe they weren’t completely  _ balanced _ yet. But, despite all the dangling threads yet to be knitted up nicely, Demetri had hope that they were heading in the right direction and starting to heal. And he couldn’t  _ wait _ to see Kyler and Tory’s faces the first time he and Hawk pulled out the Wheel in a fight. 

_ ~~~ _

_ The text convo with Yazmine went like this: _

_ D: Hey Yaz. I know its shitty to do this over text but since u’re on break… I think we need to break up. _

_ Y: Demetri u adorkable nerd we’ve made out like twice. We rn’t dating. Fooling around at most. _

_ D: O… good? _

_ Y: But who is she? How jelly should I act about it at school? _

_ D: Not a she. It’s Eli/Hawk. We made up. _

_ Y: Then made out? Wtf? _

_ D: Long story. _

_ Y: R u sure? I mean, having helped Moon to decide if she likes girls, I tots get the allure of tonguing ur bestie. But he was a total Chad to you and not to mention ur ARM. _

_ D: We had an emotional training montage and a heart 2 heart first. _

_ Y: ??? _

_ D: I’m sure he won’t break my arm again… less sure about my heart. _

_ Y: First day back at school I’m giving him the shovel talk. U break his heart. I break ur arm! Bitch! _

_ D: Pls film it _

**Author's Note:**

> I have some other ideas for this fandom. Less wholesome tho. Think some control kinks and fake dating? (Will still have a happy fix-it ending tho). But it might be awhile til this happens cus I'm working on WIPs for a ton of fandoms rn and I feel like I need to do a show rewatch before attempting a series.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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